New Orleans Pelicans: Eric Gordon Returns
By Owen Sanborn
Monday night marked the return of Eric Gordon to the New Orleans Pelicans’ starting lineup for the first time in 21 games due to a shoulder injury. His return was assumed to be an awkward fit for the first few games as players learn to reset into their roles.
Gordon started in place of the red-hot Tyreke Evans and scored only six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field. In other words, he picked up right where he left off prior to his injury.
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Fans must be sensitive to the fact that some of the erratic play can be due to general rust and lack of playing time. Most players not named Kevin Durant that miss time due to injury are prone to take a few games to get back into the swing of things.
The issue in Gordon’s case is that he hasn’t found a role within the New Orleans offense and everybody knows it.
He is too overqualified and also not good enough at shooting to be relegated to the Luke Babbitt role (sit along the perimeter and knock down open threes after guard penetration). He has lost a step of explosion when it comes to finishing at the rim and he is too undersized to create offense within the low post.
Sadly, Gordon has been the odd man out on offense for quite some time now. His contract is a bit too expensive to trade (nearly $15 million this season with a $15.5 million player option for 2015-16 that he would be CRAZY to decline). I would assume that Gordon is considered to be an enigma amongst league executives right now anyways.
Gordon’s return may unfortunately put whatever momentum the Pelicans were building as of late to a screeching halt. Babbitt started Monday night against the Wizards, but only managed to play five minutes and had zero shot attempts. His three-point shooting prowess opened up driving lanes for Evans and Anthony Davis and will sorely be missed.
Even Jimmer Fredette was beginning to find himself a role within the rotation as of late with Gordon’s absence. He only managed six minutes on Monday night.
It would be unfair to pin last night’s loss entirely on Gordon’s return. Scoring 85 points against an explosive team like the Wizards simply is not going to cut it.
However, much of the awkwardness on the offensive end can be attributed to Gordon messing up the offensive synergy. Suddenly team roles became less distinct and disciplined, players were questioning whether they should find their shot or go out of their way to establish a rhythm for Gordon.
Luckily for New Orleans, their upcoming schedule is generously filled with Eastern Conference foes, making this the precise time to get Gordon more comfortable within the offense. He has still shown enough flashes of talent to make people believe that he is still some semblance of the player that garnered a max contract only two short years ago.
He may not be this generation’s next great shooting guard (some people were very much on that bandwagon) but he is still a capable scorer when he has to be. Look for him to start making a bigger contribution in due time.